Known from the prior art are various methods for treating masses of soil.
It is known that soil cultivation weakens the structure and increases erodability of soil. The erosion, water erosion as well as wind erosion, is a growing problem. As a consequence of water erosion, nutritious earth material drifts away, e.g. from culture lands with heavy rains. In addition, if eroding earth material migrates to a watercourse, the fertilizers, such as phosphorus, bound from the earth material and to the soil particles increase eutrophication. In addition, it is known that dry soils erode easily because they encompass few organic acids and natural polysaccharides protecting the soil against the shear forces of running water. In wind erosion, the particles of the soil drift away from open areas, e.g. prairies, deserts or opencast mines. Erosion has been reduced by improving the structure of soil by adding synthetic or natural polymers thereto. The most typically used polymeric additive is polyacrylamide which can be added e.g. to irrigation water. The consumption of polyacrylamide has typically been approximately 100 to 300 kg per hectare.
Furthermore, known from the prior art are many methods for improving the quality of soil material, for example fertilization. In addition, known from the prior art are many methods for spreading seeds to the soil. According to one known method, seeds can be provided to the soil by an aqueous mixture of polyacrylamide.
Polyacrylamide has a high molar mass, and it binds many particles. Conventionally, polyacrylamide is used in the cationic or anionic form. A problem in the use of polyacrylamide is that it is not biodegradable but accumulates in the soil. In addition, a problem in the use of polyacrylamide is that small amounts of acrylamide monomeric residues may migrate to plants and thereby e.g. to foodstuffs.
In addition, known from the prior art is microfibrillated cellulose and exploration of the possibilities for the utilization thereof. In research on microfibrillated cellulose it has been discovered that it can be used in different applications e.g. in papermaking as a component improving the properties of paper. It is known that microfibrillated cellulose has a large specific surface area, and has thereby a large bonding area in comparison with the material weight.
In publication WO 0166600 A1 a composition containing cationically modified microfibrillated cellulose and water and use of the composition to in the treating of soil are disclosed. In publication U.S. Pat. No. 6,602,994 B1 a composition containing anionically modified microfibrillated cellulose and water and use of the composition for the treating of soil are disclosed.